Holmes: Gold rush will spur on track stars August 15, 2008 Double Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes believes Great Britain’s athletes will be buoyed by the successes of their Team GB colleagues as they prepare for the start of today’s track and field events. Britain have so far landed seven medals at the Beijing Games including golds for swimmer Rebecca Adlington and cyclist Nicole Cooke. [...]
Russia denies breaking truce August 14, 2008 Georgia accused Russia of breaking a shaky ceasefire in their six-day conflict yesterday, a charge strongly denied by Moscow. In a highly charged atmosphere of claim and counter-claim, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said Russian tanks had stormed the Georgian town of Gori and were advancing on the capital, though a deputy minister later backtracked on [...]
Russia orders a halt to war August 13, 2008 Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered a halt to military operations in Georgia yesterday but Tbilisi cast doubt on the announcement, saying Moscow was still bombing towns and villages. The announcement coincided with the visit of French president Nicolas Sarkozy to Moscow on an EU peace mission and seemed intended to help international efforts to negotiate [...]
BP closes second pipeline in Georgia as conflict subsides August 13, 2008 British oil giant BP shut down the second of the three pipelines it runs through Georgia yesterday – hours after Russia ended military operations against the former soviet state. BP, part of a 10-strong consortium, that runs a series of pipelines from the Caspian Sea into Georgia, said it cut production in one pipeline as [...]
Conflict in Georgia leads to fears over oil supply August 12, 2008 Oil prices spiked yesterday on fears that the conflict in Georgia could threaten supplies and cut off a major pipeline to Europe. At one point, crude oil rose by $1.81 to $115.41 in London trading, before falling back to its earlier price of $114.32. The short-lived rally came as Russia continued its offensive against Georgia, [...]
Georgia pulls forces out of rebel region August 11, 2008 Georgian forces pulled out of the breakaway South Ossetia region yesterday after three days of fighting, with Russia saying its troops controlled most of the separatist capital Tskhinvali. A Georgian convoy of troops and artillery left South Ossetia through Ergneti, a village just inside Georgian held territory south of Tskhinvali. “They have been withdrawn, completely,” [...]
Imperial surges as India and China launch rival bids August 5, 2008 China and India are going head to head in a bidding war to take over British oil and gas firm Imperial Energy, sending its shares shooting up by 8 per cent yesterday. China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, the state-owned oil company commonly known as Sinopec, has approached Imperial with an offer in the region of [...]
Sinopec to launch a bid for Imperial August 4, 2008 Oil exploration firm Imperial Energy is expected to rise this morning, after reports that one of China’s biggest state-owned oil companies is launching a bid to buy the company. The China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, commonly known as Sinopec, approached the firm last week and has already begun due diligence. It is thought that the [...]
Bentley: Spurs can break into top four August 1, 2008 David Bentley is convinced his arrival will help Tottenham break the so-called Big Four’s iron grip on Champions League qualification. Spurs have repeatedly failed to live up to expectations of reaching the lucrative and prestigious European club competition. Manager Juande Ramos was recruited from Sevilla last year and tasked with breaking into the top four, [...]
BP defiant in Russia July 30, 2008 Defiant BP chief executive Tony Hayward yesterday said the British oil giant would “not be intimidated by the strong arm tactics” of its warring oligarch partners at its Russian joint venture, TNK-BP. Hayward said: “The other shareholders want to tear up the agreement that they willingly signed in 2003 We are not prepared to do [...]